5-10-03 Little Known Facts About The Star Wars Trilogy

Star Wars (1977)

George Lucas and 'Brian DePalma' held a joint audition for Carrie (1976) and Star Wars. Originally, Sissy Spacek was cast as Princess Leia, and Carrie Fisher as Carrie. However, Carrie Fisher refused to appear in nude scenes, but Spacek was willing to do them. So, they switched parts.
Jodie Foster was Lucas' second option for Princess Leia.
Kurt Russell, Nick Nolte, and Christopher Walken were all candidates for the role of Hans Solo as George Lucas wanted to stay away from any actors he had previously used in his films. Harrison Ford (who had played Bob Falfa in Lucas' American Graffiti (1973)) read the part of Hans Solo for screen tests of other characters but wasn't originally considered for the part. During these tests Lucas realized Harrison Ford was perfect for the role.
James Earl Jones supplied the voice of Darth Vader, but specifically requested that he not be credited as he felt he had not done enough work to get the billing. (He does receive billing in the 1997 "Special Edition".) David Prowse was supposedly extremely annoyed at not being told that his voice would be dubbed.
It is rumored that George Lucas wanted Orson Welles to do Darth Vader's voice.
Before casting Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lucas considered casting Japanese actor Toshirô Mifune.
Peter Mayhew (II), who portrayed Chewbacca, was given the option of playing either Chewbacca or Darth Vader - he opted to be the Wookiee because he wanted to play a 'good guy'.
Director George Lucas had trouble getting funding for this movie, most studios thinking that people wouldn't go to see it.
20th Century Fox was so sure Star Wars was going to be a disaster that they came within a matter of days of selling off their stake in the film as a tax shelter. Positive feedback from an advanced screening made them change their minds, and the profits from the film ended up saving the studio from bankruptcy.
At one point when the prospects for the movie's release seemed bleakest, the idea came up that perhaps the effects could be removed from the movie and recycled into a TV show.
C-3PO was originally scripted as a "used car salesman" type, and designed after the robot from _Metropolis (1926)_ .
Chewbacca was modeled after Lucas' dog, Indiana. See also Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).
A great deal of the film was shot by vintage 1950s VistaVision cameras, because they were of higher quality than any others available. After the film was released, the prices of these cameras skyrocketed.
The episode number and subtitle "A New Hope" did not originally appear in the film's opening crawl. These were added to the April 10, 1981 re-release to be consistent with those seen in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The shot where the escape pod leaves Leia's ship was the first ever done by ILM.
The Tatooine scenes were filmed in Tunisia. There is a town in Tunisia called "Tatahouine". Some of the interiors of Luke's house were filmed in a hotel in Tunisia, but the exterior is an actual home in the village of Matmata, where caves and craters have been inhabited for a long time.
After the sets were constructed, Lucas went through them and had every single one of them "dirtied up". The R2-D2s were all rolled in the dirt, nicked with a saw, and kicked around a bit.
The sounds of the lasers were made by striking one of the guy wires of a power pylon.
There is a rumor that Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) was having trouble timing his conversations with R2-D2, as R2-D2's dialogue was to be dubbed in later. Supposedly, Daniels asked Lucas to make some kind of noise to help him, but when Lucas forgot, the matter was dropped.
The Directors' Guild of America (DGA) didn't like the fact that there were no specific credits at the beginning of the film. They "ordered" Lucas to re-cut the film and put some credits at the beginning. Lucas refused, claiming that this would destroy the opening of the film. The DGA fined Lucas, who paid up, and promptly quit the DGA.
The Millennium Falcon was originally modeled after a hamburger with an olive next to it.
Two different basic designs were created for the Millennium Falcon. The rejected one became the Rebel Blockade Runner seen at the start of the film.
Han Solo's blaster was manufactured from a "Broomhandle" Mauser Pistol.
According to the exhibit at the Smithsonian, the sound of a TIE fighter is created by combining the squeal of a young elephant with the sound of a car driving by on a rain-slicked highway.
Harrison Ford deliberately didn't learn his lines for the intercom conversation in the cell block, so it would sound spontaneous.
When the storm troopers enter the room where C-3PO and R2-D2 are hiding, one of them "accidentally" bumps his head on the door, complete with sound effects.
The Chewbacca suit retained a bad smell for the duration of filming after the trash-compactor scene.
Cardboard cutouts are used for some of the background starfighters in the Rebel hanger bay.
Mark Hamill held his breath for so long during the trash compactor scene that he broke a blood vessel in his face. Subsequent shots are from one side only.
Most of the crowd watching the heroes receive their medallions are cardboard cutouts.
Portions of the sound effects for the Millennium Falcon's engines were recorded at an air show at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual convention in Oshkosh, WI. In a gesture of thanks, Lucasfilm donated a model of the Falcon to the EAA Air Museum.
The model used for the rebel blockade runner (the first ship seen in the first scene of the film) has a tiny Star Wars movie poster and a tiny Playboy centerfold in its cockpit. These aren't visible on screen, though.
The famous opening title sequence of the Star Wars series was first used in the Phantom Creeps, The (1939) series which began in 1939.
The piece of equipment used to fire the Death Star's weapon is actually a Grass Valley Group 1600-7K television production switcher.
The targeting grid used for the Millennium Falcon's canon is based on a paperweight Lucas saw on Arthur C. Clarke's desk.
The language spoken by the Jawas was created by recording speakers of the African Zulu language and electronically speeding it up. Greedo's language is the Peruvian Indian language Quechua, played backwards. (George Lucas would later feature Peruvian Indians again in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)).
George Lucas shot the opening sequence of the Storm Troopers bursting through the blockade runner door, and the ensuing battle against rebel troops, in two takes. While the action on set was over very quickly, Lucas used six cameras to capture it, thereby extending the length of the scene on screen. Since some cameras were in very tight and others wide, it is difficult to tell the various actions that were duplicated.
Peter Cushing found the boots that came with his costume extremely uncomfortable to wear because they were too small for his feet. Thus he only wore them in the few shots in which Tarkin's feet could be seen. In all other shots, Cushing wore a pair of fuzzy slippers.
The final battle has been described as borrowed from _Dam Busters, The (1954)_ , but much more closely resembles one in 633 Squadron (1964).
The final medal scene parallels shot-for-shot a sequence in Triumph des Willens (1934).
Leia was imprisoned in cell number 2187, perhaps a reference to the Canadian documentary 21-87 (1964), which may have influenced George Lucas and his filmmaking style.
The sequence where Luke returns to the farm is identical to Searchers, The (1956), when the farm has been burned by Indians
Denis Lawson, who played Wedge Antilles (his name is misspelt in the credits as "Dennis Lawson"), is the uncle of Ewan McGregor, who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequels. See also Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Han and Luke "transfer" Chewbacca from cell block 1138: Lucas directed a film called _THX 1138 (1970)_ . "THX-1138" was going to be the serial number of the guard with the faulty transmitter on the Death Star, but this was changed.
A small pair of metal dice can be seen hanging in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon as Chewbacca makes preparations to depart from Mos Eisley. They don't appear in subsequent scenes.
George Lucas insisted that he have merchandising rights to the film. Studio executives, seeing little if any profit from such merchandise, gave him the rights for free. Star Wars related merchandise has generated millions of dollars in sales, and merchandising rights are now a major part of any film contract.
The MPAA originally rated the film G, but studio execs had it changed to PG before release because it might turn off teenagers from seeing it, considering it a "kids' movie".
Although it is often claimed by George Lucas that Star Wars was always intended as part of a series (originally nine parts, later six), producer Gary Kurtz claimed differently in a interview in 1999. According to Kurtz, Star Wars was meant to be a standalone film. It was only after the film's incredible success that he and Lucas got together to consider sequels. They came up with the idea that Star Wars was the fourth story of a nine-part series and penned rough outlines for each episode. After releasing the "fifth" episode (The Empire Strikes Back (1980)), Lucas made Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) with Steven Spielberg. The success of this film convinced Lucas to increase the emphasis on action in the "sixth" Star Wars episode. According to Kurtz, the Emperor was not originally going to make an appearance until episode 9. Luke and Leia were not brother and sister. There was no Death Star II. The search for Han Solo was the main plot of the film, during which Luke would have furthered his Jedi training. Solo was going to die in the final battle. Luke was going to go off to complete/continue his Jedi training and Leia was going to resume her position as Queen of her people, separating the major characters in a "downer" ending similar to that of Episode 5. Kurtz strongly objected to Lucas' changes and insisted they should stay with the story they had originally planned. Lucas just as strongly disagreed and the two parted company. (Kurtz left to make Dark Crystal, The (1982) with Jim Henson and hasn't worked with Lucas since.)
Shortly before production began, Lucas brought in his film school pals Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck to polish the script.
The name Wookiee came about as a result of an accident. When San Francisco DJ Terry McGovern was doing voice-over work on _THX 1138 (1970)_ for George Lucas, he made a blunder and exclaimed, "I think I ran over a wookiee back there." Lucas, confused, asked what he meant by the term. McGovern admitted that he didn't know and added that he simply made it up. Lucas never forgot the cute word and used it years later in Star Wars.
R2-D2 is renamed C1-P8 for all the Italian versions of the Star Wars trilogy.
Derived from (among other things) a Japanese movie called Kakushi toride no san akunin (1958). Obi-Wan Kenobi was modeled after a Samurai warrior, and C-3PO and R2-D2 are derived from a couple of petty crooks he conscripted to help rescue a princess. Two characters in the Japanese film (also known as "The Hidden Fortress") were split to produce four in "Star Wars" - aspects of Toshiro Mifune's samurai character became Ben Kenobi and Han Solo, and aspects of the Princess's character became Luke and Leia. (Early production art exists showing a female lead character rather than Luke.)
The word "Jedi" is derived from the Japanese words "Jidai Geki" which translate as "period drama." A period drama is a Japanese TV soap opera program set in the samurai days. Lucas mentioned in an interview that he saw a "Jidai Geki" program on TV while in Japan a year or so before the movie was made and liked the word.
C-3PO loses an arm when attacked by the Sandpeople. Ben cuts off a creature's hand in the Cantina (see also Empire Strikes Back, The (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)). The scene in which Ben cuts off the bad guy's arm is a direct reference to Yojimbo (1961); the same scene was the basis for Clint Eastwood's "My mule doesn't like to be laughed at" scene in _Fistful of Dollars, A (1964)_ ; in the original Japanese film, one of the bad guys tells Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune's character) how bad he is and how he's a convicted murderer. Sanjuro taunts the bad guys into attacking him ("Are you sure you want me to kill you? It'll *hurt* you know...") and leaves two dead and one with his arm chopped off.
The following characters "have a bad feeling about this": Luke and Han. See also Empire Strikes Back, The (1980), and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Scenes featuring Luke and his Tatooine friend "Biggs" were cut from the film. Biggs was a young pilot who left the Imperial Academy to join the Rebellion. Luke mentions him to his "aunt" and "uncle" during the breakfast scene, and the character later shows up as a Rebel pilot who accompanies Luke down the final run on the Death Star trench (and is killed by Darth Vader).
The droid, R2-D2 was actually a short name of Reel-2, Dialogue-2. During the editing of American Graffitti, one of George Lucas's earlier films, the editor, Walter Murch was looking for the section which is Reel-2, Dialogue-2. One of the workers came out with the short form, "Where's R2-D2?" Murch and Lucas like the name so much that he kept that name and named the blue droid's character name after the incident.
In the French version of the movie many of the names are changed including C-3P0 who is renamed "Z-6P0", Han Solo as "Yan Solo" and Darth Vader as "Dark Vador".
In Italy, R2-D2 was renamed C1-P8 while Darth Vader became Dart Fener. The 'clones' mentioned by Obi-Wan Kenobi became 'quotes' (Italian: 'cloni'/'quoti').
Actress Koo Stark had a brief appearance as a Tatooine woman named 'Cammie' in the 'Biggs' scene but her role ended up on the cutting room floor.
Director Trademark: [George Lucas] [1138] in honor of his earlier movie THX-1138.
"Vader" is Dutch for "father".
Obi-wan Kenobi's name comes from a vintage synth by Oberheim, the OB-1.
For reasons that are unclear, Lawson, Denis does not appear as Wedge Antilles in the scene taking place in the Yavin 4 briefing room. Wedge's lines in this scene are delivered by a stand-in actor, Klaff, Jack. Lucasfilm has confirmed that Lawson was indeed not present for the shooting of that scene. Lawson did play Wedge in all other appearances in the movie.
The Outrider (Dash Rendar's ship in 1996's "Shadows of the Empire" series) can be seen lifting off from Mos Eisley as Luke and Obi-Wan enter the spaceport via Luke's speeder
On opening weekend in 1977, Star Wars $1.554 million on over 40 screens. In 1997, it made over $36 million on over 2,000 screens.
Chewbacca "voice" is a combination of several animals including bears, badgers, walrus and camels.
Lucas acknowledges his debt to Akira Kurosawa's Kakushi toride no san akunin (1958) "Hidden Fortress" in the first conference room scene on the Death Star. Just as an Imperial Officer is saying the line "...the Rebel's hidden fort..." he is telekinetically strangled by Darth Vader, shutting him up before he can say the full title.
When the blasters are cocked they have a clicking/clunking sound. This is a recording of a parking meter handle being turned.
While filming, a fierce sandstorm destroyed several of the Tatooine sets in the desert outside Tozeur, Tunisia, and filming resumed two days later. The same thing would happen to George Lucas 22 years later while filming Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
George Lucas said in an interview that Darth Vader was based on Hakaider, a villain from the superhero TV series, "Jinzô ningen Kikaidâ" (1972), which he saw while he was in Japan.
The original name of the main character in this film was Luke Starkiller. It was changed to Skywalker on the first day of filming. All early drafts of the script still bear the name "Starkiller".
George Lucas feared he had a box office flop on his hands when he made the film so he intentionally distanced himself from the studio people when the film opened. He and his wife just happened to be sitting in a cafe when they looked outside at a crowd in the street. They realized that the crowd was for a theatre where this film had just opened.

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Mark Hamill was involved in a minor car accident before shooting began, and many rumours exist regarding facial injuries and script rewrites. The magazine "Starlog" (#40) contains an interview with Hamill where he attempts to dispel the rumours.
In the asteroid scene, one of the asteroids is actually a shoe. The rumor is that George Lucas asked the SFX people to redo the scene so many times that they got annoyed and one of them threw in their shoe.
Another of the asteroids is actually a potato. It appears just as the Millennium Falcon first enters the field. Two asteroids travel from the top left to the bottom right corner of the screen. Just after the second asteroid leaves the screen a third one appears in the top left corner. This is the potato.
Lighting for SFX was so strong that several models melted.
The AT-AT's were based on gantry cranes which are used in most shipping ports in the US. Walking patterns of elephants were studied to make the movements seem as realistic as possible.
Further scenes with the Wampa were shot, and later cut. R2-D2 encountered one within the Rebel base, where it was killed by troopers. Later, the beasts were lured into a prison within the complex. In the completed film, a medical droid is seen examining the wounds of a tauntaun killed by a Wampa, and Princess Leia mentions the "creatures" while discussing the Imperial probe droid. A scene filmed but cut had Han, Leia and C-3PO running through a corridor. Han went to take a short-cut through a door with a sign on it, but Leia warned him "that's where those creatures are kept". They run off, but not before C-3PO rips off the sign, hoping that the stormtroopers will enter the room.
The blasters used by the stormtroopers were constructed from Sterling L2A3 Mk 4 submachine guns.
Security surrounding this movie was so intense that George Lucas had regular reports about "leaks" from actors. Lucas was so determined that the ending be kept secret that he had actor David Prowse (Darth Vader) say "Obi Wan Kenobi is your father" ("Obi-Wan killed your father" by some reports), and dubbed it later to be "I am your father".
During the carbonite freezing chamber scene, both Jeremy Bulloch and David Prowse had to remove their helmets every three minutes because the steam from the floor their made costumes hot and heavy.
The scene where Solo was hit by the toolbox as well as hitting the control panels were improvised on the set. At first, the crew were afraid of shooting it, but Kershner finally persuaded them to do so, saying "Come on, that's fun. Let's do it!"
The two other scenes, which are the swamps of Dagobah; and the asteroid's creature (which has the Millenium Falcon) was done on the same sound stage used for the interior backgrounds of the Echo base in Hoth
The scenes where R2-D2 is submerged in the mud pool were shot in George Lucas' unfinished swimming pool. Most of the crew were hidden under the water and the entire sequence was shot by Lucas himself.
On Hoth, General Rieekan says "Send Rogues 10 and 11 to sector 38," a veiled reference to _THX 1138 (1970)_ .
Luke cuts off the Wampa's arm. C-3PO loses an arm when blasted by the Stormtroopers. Darth Vader cuts off Luke's hand. See also Star Wars (1977) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
The following characters "have a bad feeling about this": Leia. See also: Star Wars (1977) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Jeremy Bulloch, who plays Boba Fett, is producer Robert Watts (II)'s half-brother.
Denis Lawson plays Wedge Antilles. Wedge was not originally scripted to appear in this film, but intense fan interest prompted Lucas to include him. See also Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Leigh Brackett succumbed to cancer shortly after completing her first draft of the script of the film.
The voiceover line "The first transport is away" during the Rebel evacuation is delivered by Mark Hamill.
Mark Hamill's wife gave birth to their first son early one morning, and Mark went straight from the hospital to shooting. This was the day they filmed the shots of Luke hanging by the weather vane below Cloud City, on Bespin.
According to the book "Splinter of the Mind's Eye", this story begins four years after the events in "Star Wars".
An extra fell sick, and Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) was called in as a replacement. He can be seen as the Imperial Guard who pulls Princess Leia into the elevator after she screams "Luke! It's a trap!". He can also be seen as the Imperial Guard who is captured by Lando Calrissian's men.
When Han Solo is about to be frozen, Princess Leia says, "I love you." In the original script, Han Solo was supposed to say, "I love you, too" but after having to reshoot the scene several times, Harrison Ford became annoyed and simply remarked "I know." This line stuck.
Lucas's "Force" in the Star Wars movies probably derives from the Asian religion of Taoism. Wherein, there is a life force (or Tao) present in all living things that surrounds and joins everything. As well as the belief that to obtain true balance in life, you must become one with the Tao, and allow it to guide you.
The name of the fierce cave creatures - Wampa(s) - bear curious likeness to "Wumpus" which many (computer) nerds of the late 70's and early 80's recognize as a hideous monster that lives in a cave.
Luke is upside-down at the beginning (Wampa cave), in the middle (training on Dagobah), and at the end (below Cloud City). He uses the Force each time.
Having Han Solo frozen in carbonite was (at least in part) due to the fact that they were not sure that Harrison Ford would return for a third film. When the original Star Wars was made Carrie Fisher and Mark Hammill were signed for a three picture deal, but Ford refused.
The shots where Luke uses his Jedi powers to retrieve his lightsaber from a distance were achieved by having Mark Hamill throw the lightsaber away and then running the film in reverse.
Darth Vader's costume was more detailed in this film, including the flashing red lights on his chest box. A new Millennium Falcon (32-inches long) was built for this film and has two additional landing gear boxes on its underside. As a result, the original Star Wars (1977) model (5-foot long) was modified and given the extra landing gear bays and was used for all FX scenes of the Falcon in a landed position.
For the Special Edition, Vader's "Bring my shuttle" line has been replaced with, "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival". Sound designer Ben Burtt has confirmed that this is actually a line performed by James Earl Jones that and recorded for use in Star Wars (1977), but never used.

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

David Lynch was originally offered the chance to direct this episode of the series. He turned it down because he believed it was "Lucas' thing."
Director David Cronenberg was offered the chance to direct.
The dual stripes painted on rebel A-wing fighters were originally blue, but were changed to red because the blue made it a problem when filming blue-screen effects.
SFX crew claim to have included a "sneaker" as one of the spaceships in a complex dog-fight scene (see also trivia for _Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)) (qv)).
Jabba's sail barge was filmed in Yuma, Arizona. The film crew had problems avoiding the 35,000 dune buggy enthusiasts in the area. To preserve secrecy, the producers claimed to be making a horror film called "Blue Harvest (Horror beyond your imagination)", and even had caps and t-shirts made up for the crew. A chain-link fence and a 24-hour security service could not prevent die-hard fans from entering the set and sneaking some photographs.
The main chamber of Jabba's palace is connected to the entrance by a short flight of steps. When filming the scene where R2-D2 enters the chamber it was discovered that the droid could not roll down the stairs. In the movie we see R2-D2 approaching the stairs, then the camera moves to the left past the steps and the droid re-enters the field of view, having been manually hauled down the stairs.
The Endor shots were filmed near Crescent City, California. Forest work was especially hard on the Ewok actors. Production Assistant Ian Bryce arrived on the set one day to find a note from the Ewok actors saying that they had all had enough and they were on their way to the airport. Bryce tried to drive to the airport, but got a flat tire not far from the set. He found another car and was about to leave when the Ewoks' bus pulled up, and all the Ewok actors got off wearing "Revenge of the Ewok" t-shirts.
The primitive warrior tribe at the end of this film was originally supposed to be a tribe of Wookiees. In pre-production, though, the decision was made to go "cute" (probably for merchandising reasons) and, hence, the Ewoks were created (by rearranging the sounds in the word "Wookiee").
Among the aliens in Jabba the Hutt's entourage are ones named "Klaatu," "Barada" and "Nikto," after the command given to the robot Gort in Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951). The aliens are not referred to by name in the film, nor do they have any lines.
Luke's hand gets shot. Leia gets shot in the shoulder. Luke cuts off Darth Vader's hand. See also Star Wars (1977) and Empire Strikes Back, The (1980).
The Bounty Hunter later makes an appearance in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode where Worf and company are held prisoner by the Dominion.
Several Ewok lines are in the Filipino (Tagalog) language.
The film originally included a sandstorm scene that occurred after Han's rescue. It was cut because it was unnecessary and was hectic to shoot.
The dancer that Jabba drops into the Rancor pit loses her top as she falls in.
Carrie Fisher's birthmark (near the small of her back) is visible in the desert scene where she turns her back to the camera to swing around a mounted laser gun.
Rumour has it that Nien Numb speaks a Kenyan dialect, and one of his lines is "One thousand herds of elephants are standing on my foot".
It is rumored that a different ending was shot, but discarded later on. It featured the (long awaited) marriage between Leia Organa and Han Solo. Dark Horse's Comic "Dark Empire" is based on that fact and presents Han and Leia as a married couple.
Denis Lawson, who played Wedge Antilles in Star Wars (1977) and Empire Strikes Back, The (1980) plays Wedge in this film, despite the rumors to the contrary which were caused by his name being misspelt ("Dennis Lawson") in the credits of Star Wars (1977). Intense debate on Usenet prompted Jarod Nash to write a letter to Lawson, asking for clarification. Lawson confirmed that he indeed played in all three movies.
Darth Vader's body was played by David Prowse, his voice by James Earl Jones, and his face by 'Shaw, Sebastian' .
One of the songs that the Ewoks sing sounds like: "Det luktar flingor här", which is Swedish for "It smells of cereal here." (In fact, that line's lyrics are supposedly, "G'noop dock fling oh ah.") Another song sounds identical to a song sung in Caveman (1981).
The title "Revenge of the Jedi" was leaked early in production, so that pirated merchandise could be easily spotted when the film was released. The official reason for the change was that "...a Jedi would not take revenge". Some authentic pre-release movie posters actually had "Revenge", and are worth a lot of money today.
Portions of the partially completed Death Star model resemble the San Francisco skyline.
At the end, when Luke cremates Darth Vader, he starts the fire at big toe of his right foot. He also apparently walks around the pyre. Those details and the style of the pyre correspond to Hindu tradition.
David Prowse, who played Darth Vader's body in three films, was unaware of the planned unmasking scene in which a different actor, 'Shaw, Sebastian' , played Vader's face.
The name Anakin is the accusative of the greek noun Anax, meaning "lord."
The name Palpatine was based on the name Palatine in the film, Taxi Driver (1976). It was changed to avoid legal problems.
Kasdan and Lucas initially wanted to include the "victory over the Empire" shots on the imperial city. However, they were unable to get a satisfactory name for the capital planet of the Empire. In May 1991, author Timothy Zahn wrote the first Star Wars spin-off book, Heir to The Empire, and came out with the capital planet's name as Coruscant. Lucas was happy with the name and as the result, CG shots of victory celebration sequences of other cities, including Coruscant (where the statue collapsed) was included in the 1997 Special Edition.
Robert Watts (II), a co-producer of the film, doubles as the scout walker driver who is thrown out of the scout walker by Chewbacca.
One of the words C-3PO uses to communicate with the Ewoks is "naboo" which is the name of the main planet in Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace (1999)
The victory trumpet call that the Ewoks used at the end of the Battle Of Endor was the same as the trumpet call that was used in The Ten Commandments. It can be heard when the Jews are about to leave Egypt for the Promised Land.
The sounds of the "speederbikes" were used in _Daisenki (1993)_ in the final battle as the UFO´s sounds.
Princess Leia, is the best shot. She never misses. See Star Wars.
Before filming began, it was discovered that all of Darth Vader's lightsaber props had either been lost or stolen. Thus, one of Luke Skywalker's "stunt" saber props from Empire Strikes Back, The (1980) had to be quickly cannibalized into a "Vader-esque" saber for this film.
Character who has "a bad feeling about this": C-3PO. See also Star Wars (1977) and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Wedge Antillies (Denis Lawson) is the only minor Star Wars character to survive the Battles of Yavin, Hoth, and Endor.
At one point during the battle on Endor, Leia turns towards a Scout Walker and shoots a man who is either standing on or leaning out of the top. This man is rumored to be none other than the director, Richard Marquand.
The design of Luke's new lightsaber is directly based on the one used by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars (1977). In fact, one of Obi-Wan's "stunt" saber props was reused in Return of the Jedi as Luke's.